


a dream you can’t place

by kingdomdance



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: F/M, First Meetings, Hamilton AU, Pining, Satisfied AU, Unrequited Love, adrien nath and nino are rich bffs and ladybug works alone au, and satisfied is instead HAPPINESS bc why not, except not in the 18th century, one-sided
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-31
Updated: 2016-12-31
Packaged: 2018-09-13 15:21:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,501
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9130300
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kingdomdance/pseuds/kingdomdance
Summary: Adrien wanted to run away with her but then, when he turned around, he saw Nathanaël's face. He lookedhelpless.A Hamilton / Satisfied AU





	

**Author's Note:**

> not sure if it was amanda or me who first brought up the hamilton au, but here we are...also this is very weird but also very self indulgent
> 
> lyrical references et cetera belong to lin-manuel miranda. title from the song ‘satisfied’. might be a bit ooc since this is done for the sake of a crossover
> 
> comments and/or kudos are greatly appreciated btw!!

”A toast to the both of you," Adrien announces, raising his glass of white wine that's a drop from being empty, "from your brother —  _figuratively_ , who's always by your side. To your union, and the hope that you provide. May you always find happiness with each other." 

Nathanaël and Marinette look at each other from the main table and kiss. Adrien feels his heart falter slightly as he suddenly gets reminded of the night he and Marinette first met. He realises he'll be reminded of that night every time Nathanaël — now with his wife — visits him, every time he'll call, every anecdote during holidays or every newspaper with Marinette's superhero alias on the headline, and he  _hates_  it. 

Hates that he remembers it so well. Hates that the feeling still feels as fresh as it had been when he first led Marinette to Nathanaël. Hates that with this memory he'll take on with him, he'll also bring regret. 

_God_ , he can still feel it. 

Adrien urges a smile to display.  
  
  
  


_Rewind._

 

Of the three of them, he was always the one kept within the confines of their mansion. Nathanaël's parents allowed him to go wherever he wanted, though the guy preferred visiting Adrien instead and while doing so he sketched or presented his already finished pieces of art to the guy whose opinion he valued highly. Nino was allowed to go out as well, but he enjoyed Adrien and Nathanaël's company more than anything, and so visited just as often as Nathanaël did. 

Adrien's restrictions from the outside unless accompanied by his father's assistant and a personal bodyguard greatly contributed to his interest in superheroes and adventure whether it be from comic books, films, or anime. 

His favourite was  _Ladybug_ , a real-life hero who always rescued Paris from villains and prevented war. She had fought and won so many battles already, and it didn't take long enough for Adrien to admire her then as much as he loved her now. 

A winter's ball was thrown by his father to congratulate Ladybug (and all of Paris for that matter) for her achievements. She then and there not only accepted his invitation but also announced that she would be letting the public know of her true identity. 

As expected, this got Adrien (along with the other Parisians who idolised her) excited as hell.  
  
  
  
  
  
The date of the ball arrived and Adrien wore his best suit, had his hair personally styled by the best people (one of the perks of being a model), and he brushed up his conversation list, not that he needed it as he had so many questions to ask of her. 

Nathanaël and Nino arrived looking nearly just as handsome as Adrien did. Nino wanted to be the DJ of the event, but Adrien's father protested, leaving him grumpy and doing his best to remain happy at the celebration by socialising and dancing. 

It wasn't long before Adrien saw her, the lady in red and black. He wasn't so sure if it was Ladybug herself, but her person left his mind the moment their eyes met despite the waltzing coupled occupying the dance floor. He was at a daze, and he made his way across the room towards her. 

(She was as beautiful up close as from the other side of the room.) 

”Hi," she said with a smile. 

_Oh, damn._ He forgot his name! She was so ethereal that he didn't know what happened, didn't know these kinds of things happened in real life. He felt  _helpless_ ; he was nervous, his heart pumped so fast, all he could do was look down and blush — and she was smiling at him. 

"You strike me," she whispered teasingly, "as someone who's never seen happiness." 

”I don't know what you mean. Sometimes I just forget myself," he excused suddenly. 

”No, you're like me, I think. You know, never saw happiness." She was serious, but smiled still, thinking of the comfort that followed with the knowledge of thinking she and him had some sort of connection. 

”Is that so?" He was smiling now. 

”I’ve never felt pure happiness." 

"My name's Adrien Agreste." 

"I'm Marinette Dupain-Cheng." 

And for some reason, that was when he knew. "May I ask who you are?" 

She beamed, but tried to hide it. "I think you know." And then, like sharing a secret, she added in a whisper, "You're the first one, too." 

So, Adrien thought this was what it felt like to see a cause of pure happiness. He knew who she was, she was Ladybug! His idol, his crush, his love if she allowed it. He couldn't help but smile as well — it felt too good to be true, it felt like they found the solution of a long-time problem within themselves, like they saw the light at the end of the tunnel. 

They talked for maybe two or three minutes more with everything they said in total sync with each other. It felt like a dream. 

In this Adrien found she was so different to what he'd thought of her to be — she was aware of the power she held as Ladybug and how it'd toll on the people around her, she was far more passionate and wanted more from the world than she was given. She also wanted to be in design; she sketched a lot and drew different types of clothing in hopes to impress with her work. 

With this, Adrien decided he wanted to do it, Adrien wanted to run away with her but then, when he turned around, he saw Nathanaël's face. He looked helpless. His eyes were dazed and in love like he had been a while ago. Adrien knew exactly how Nathanaël felt, and in this he also realised three fundamental truths at the exact same time. 

”Um, where are we going?" Marinette asked, realising Adrien wasn't going to ask her to dance. 

”I’m just going to change your life," he replied. Adrien smiled before pausing in front of Nathanaël, whose facial expressions mirrored his from a while ago. 

Number one, he was the model son of Gabriel Agreste, famous fashion designer. His reputation and name was as clean as his father could have made it to be, and the gossip in this city was  _insidious_. Ladybug was a famous hero whose past and name wasn't as clean as his. That didn't mean he didn't love her any less, though. 

“My name's Nathanaël." 

”Nathanaël?" Marinette repeated curiously, sheer interest oozing from her voice as she looked at Adrien for further explanation. 

”A good friend of mine," Adrien replied, faking excitement. 

Number two, she liked him because he was the son of Gabriel Agreste, and she wanted to be a famous fashion designer. He'd have to be naïve to set that aside, maybe that was why he introduced her to Nathanaël. 

_Good job, Adrien, she was right—you will never find pure happiness._

“Thank you, for defending our country," Nathanaël said. 

All of a sudden, Marinette — Ladybug's — attention transferred to him entirely. "If it takes fighting so many battles and saving akumatized villains for us to meet, then I'll say it's worth it." 

“I’ll leave you to it," Adrien added, before making his way out of the scene, just to catch Nino flirting with Marinette's companion earlier (Alya, he believed?). 

Number three, he knew his brothers like he knew his own mind. They were the most trusting and the most kind of all the men in Paris. To be with even one of them would make the other person luckier than one could imagine. 

_If I told him that I loved her, he would be the one who lied — she'd been mine — he'd say he's fine, but he'd be lying._

He loved them more than anything, he supposed, and he'd always choose their happiness over his. 

So, when Nathanaël wrote and received dozens of letters to and from Ladybug, Adrien supported their relationship and pretended he never liked her that much, anyway. But then at night, he'd recall the Winter's Ball, and fantasized what could have been if he didn't size her up too much, if he would have been the one writing and receiving all those letters, if Marinette would have loved him as much as she loved Nathanaël. And then he'd remember meeting her eyes at the other side of the room. 

At least he remembered her eyes.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


”To the groom!" Adrien raises his glass once more, finishing his speech. 

The guests follow, raising their half-full glasses of champagne, and Nathanaël smiles. 

”To the bride!" 

This time, Marinette. 

”Again, from your brother, who'll  _always_  be by your side." 

Nathanaël's smile turns more sweet as he reaches for and holds Marinette's hand. 

“To your union, and your love." 

He kisses her hand from the back. 

“May you both find pure happiness within each other!" 

And he knows that they'll be happy together. But he also knows that Marinette won't find pure happiness, or that  _he_  will never find pure happiness.


End file.
